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A new way of posting the trot

7/8/2015

 
I had the pleasure to meet James Shaw for the first time at the Horse Expo in Denver this spring. Watching him work with riders and horses it struck me how quickly the horses would change once a change happened in the rider.
I decided that I really wanted to learn more and invited James to conduct a three day clinic at my home barn in Black Forest. We had a great group of six riders and four auditors and came away with many new insights. 
My plan is to share some of those in the next few weeks as they are still fresh in my mind.

How about a different and better way to post?
Most of us have learned to rise by rolling our thighs and femur inward and get a rather solid connection knee through upper thigh in that phase. As we come back in the saddle we reverse that rotation. "Piece of cake", you say and "Yes, once I have learned that, I always did it like that." Well guess what, the opposite works better.

So that means you try to rotate your femur and upper thigh outward on the rise, and inward on the sit. Why?
With the outward rotation you begin to lift your pelvis - makes a lot of sense since you are trying to rise out of the saddle. But more importantly with the inward rotation in the downward phase you can control your seat as you get back into the saddle. Since the horse has some lift during the trot the saddle moves towards you as you are sitting down but still most people (me included) really cannot control the last 5 to 10% of that phase if the femur rolls out. Now try to opposite - roll out for up and roll in for down - and yes, you can control the very last phase of getting back into the saddle.

Why is that important? If you cannot control it, you literally fall into your horses back every time you sit down - and that is just not comfortable for your horse. Through this lack of control you also rock the saddle forward and backward - even a well fitting saddle.

Another advantage of the new way of posting: You will rise and sit much straighter. Many riders (especially women) tend to stick their behind out in the sit phase. My students know what I call it - the "duck butt". This tends to shift your center of gravity quite a bit forward and backward which makes it difficult for your horse to give you a regular and balanced trot.

So give the new way a try. It will feel awkward at first but once you get used to it, you and your horse will enjoy the posting trot much more. 

Anna Worley link
7/30/2015 10:17:42 am

For some reason, I learned to think "up" when I saw the inside shoulder go forward and by the time I was "up" the inside hind leg would be rising off the ground. I have tried several times to use this new technique of inward rotation on the "down" since auditing the James Shaw clinic but have only been able to do about 3 cycles before my muscle memory kicks in and I'm back to the old way of posting. I finally came up with the idea to think "up - in - up - in" to keep my ADHD mind focussed on the new technique. Does anybody know how long it takes to change muscle memory? 😋


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  • Home
    • What's New
    • Blog
    • Why Simone >
      • Testimonials
      • The Three Tenors - Having Fun with three Andalusian Stallions
  • Lessons
    • Calendar
    • Video Assessment
    • Simone Release
    • Demander Equestrian Release
    • Fleurting Rose Release
    • Venmo and Check Payment
    • Zelle Payment
  • Workshops/Clinics
    • Workshops online signup
    • Participant Testimonials
  • Shows
    • Split Pine Ranch 2023 >
      • Split Pine Ride Times / Results
    • Latigo Fall/Winter 2023 >
      • Latigo Entry
      • Latigo Ride Times / Results
    • Leadline Class Test
  • Show management / judge
    • Show Mgr/Secr Testimonials
  • Contact / About
  • Release Forms
    • Proof of Vaccination Form
    • Release Split Pine and Simone
    • Split Pine Release
    • Latigo Waiver LLC
    • Release Latigo and Simone
    • Fleurting Rose Release/Rules
    • RMDS Waiver based on USEF
    • USEF Covid Waiver